Joe Biden vows to be 'more mindful' on same day as three more women make accusations

Former Vice President Joe Biden is acknowledging his past behavior with women has made some people uncomfortable following complaints over the past week that he touched some without their consent. (April 3)
AP

WASHINGTON – Former Vice President Joe Biden, facing multiple allegations from women of unwanted and inappropriate behavior, promised to be more "mindful and respectful" in a video released Wednesday

Biden, who is considering a bid for the White House in 2020, says his touching was all about making a "human connection."

"It's just who I am," Biden says in the video. "I've never thought of politics as cold or antiseptic."

Hours after the video, The Washington Post reported allegations from three more women, including a former White House intern who said Biden got very close to her face and called her a "pretty girl."

The additional accounts bring the total number of women who have brought forward complaints about Biden to seven, since Friday.

Biden contends his close contact is his way of showing people he cares.

"I’ve always tried to be, in my career, I’ve always tried to make a human connection. That’s my responsibility, I think. I shake hands, I hug people, I grab men and women by the shoulders and say you can do this,” Biden said in the video posted to Twitter. “It’s the way I’ve always been. It’s the way I’ve tried to show I care about them and I’m listening.”

But he says he understands times have changed and so should his behavior. "I get it. I get it. I hear what they're saying. I understand," Biden says. "I’ll be much more mindful."

"I’ll always believe that governing, quite frankly life for that matter, is about connecting with people," Biden says. "That won’t change, but I will be more mindful and respectful of people’s personal space – and that’s a good thing."

Social norms are changing. I understand that, and I’ve heard what these women are saying. Politics to me has always been about making connections, but I will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future. That’s my responsibility and I will meet it. pic.twitter.com/Ya2mf5ODts

The string of accusations started when Lucy Flores, a former member of the Nevada Legislature, accused Biden of "demeaning and disrespectful" behavior when he kissed the back of her head.

In a column for New York Magazine, Flores detailed a backstage encounter with Biden during an event in 2014 in Nevada where he spoke to help boost voter turnout for Democrats.

"I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified," Flores wrote. "He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn’t process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused."

Since then, three women told similar allegations stories to the New York Times and another three on Wednesday came forward in the Post.

Among the allegations, Vail Kohnert-Yount, a former intern at the White House, told the Post that in 2013 she met the vice president at the White House.

After shaking hands, "he put his hand on the back of my head and pressed his forehead to my forehead while he talked to me. I was so shocked that it was hard to focus on what he was saying. I remember he told me I was a ‘pretty girl,’" Kohnert-Yount told the Post.

Another accuser, Sofie Karasek, told the Post that she told Biden a story about a college student who was the victim of a sexual assault during the Oscars in 2016. She told the Post that after she told Biden that the student had committed suicide after the assault, Biden took her hands and placed his forehead against hers.

Karasek told the Post that it was an awkward moment and that she did not know how to react. She said she doesn't feel Biden's video apology was enough.

"He emphasized that he wants to connect with people and, of course, that’s important. But, again, all of our interactions and friendships are a two-way street," Karasek said, adding that Biden "still didn’t take ownership in the way that he needs to."

A third woman on Wednesday told the Post that Biden held her close "for a beat too long" during a 2008 event when she was introduced to the former vice president.

Ally Coll said Biden leaned in, squeezed her shoulders and complimented her smile, according to the Post.

The allegations against Biden come amid #MeToo, a movement started nearly a decade ago that went viral in 2017 as women in Hollywood and across the country shared stories of sexual harassment and assault.

It’s led to the resignation or downfall of more than 100 entertainers, executives and politicians, including Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer and Kevin Spacey. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., announced his resignation in 2017 after accusations of sexual misconduct.

Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., also stepped down, as well as Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., who resigned amid reports he discussed with female staffers the possibility they could be surrogates for his and his wife's baby.

President Donald Trump suggested at an event Tuesday that Biden may have been one of the Democrats' best shots at taking the White House in 2020, then he cracked several jokes.

"It looks like the only non-sort-of-heavy socialist, he's being taken care of pretty well by the socialists. They got to him, our former vice president," Trump said. "I was going to call him. I don't know him well. I was going to say, 'Welcome to the world, Joe. You having a good time, Joe? Are you having a good time?' "

Trump again mentioned Biden while telling the crowd at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner about a general who told him defeating the Islamic State could be done within a week. "Give me a kiss," Trump said he told the general.

He continued: "I felt like Joe Biden."

Wednesday, the president said, "I wish him luck. I do wish him luck."

More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct over the years, including eight women who accused him of forcibly kissing them.

Trump denied the allegations. In an “Access Hollywood” tape that surfaced during the final weeks of the presidential campaign in 2016, Trump made lewd comments and bragged about groping women. The president said that was "locker-room banter."

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